Important Minerals in Guizhou
Topped in China: mercury, barite (taking 1/3 of the proven serves of the whole country), sandstone for fertilizer and metallurgy, dolerite for facial decoration, sandstone for brick and tile.
Mercury: the discovering and application of mercury in Guizhou had a long history recorded, over 2000 years as early as it had been discovered and recorded in Han Dynasty. Till now mercury is produced in more than 40 counties and cities in this province, the proven reserves takes 70% of the total reserves in China, and recoverable reserves takes more than half.
Mercury and its chemical compound own a wide application as in chemical, electrical, instrument, pharmaceutics, metallurgy, militaries and new technology areas.
Barite: till end of 2004, more than 120 spots of barite reserves founded in Guizhou, with 12 spots in resources reserves, accumulated 124.569 million tons, 87.69% located intensively beside Dahe River in Tianzhu County in Guizhou Southeast Prefecture, with a extremely high concentration in resources distribution. Now the world barite is consumed 40% in USA and 14% in China.
Tombarthite (Rare Earth): Guizhou owns a high reserving of tombarthite, ranking 2nd in China, taking an important position. It is mainly produced in West Guizhou, especially Xinhua Mining of Zhijin the largest in scale, is a seldom-large ore district in China.
Tombarthite is reputed as industrial Gold, which can improve the quality and performance of other products substantially, as it can improve the tactical performance greatly of iron, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and titanium alloy which are applied into tank, airplane and missile production.
Phosphorite in Guizhou owns abundance, which is one of the dominant resources. It was formed in Sinian System and Cambrian System, the deposit classification is sedimentation. Till end of December 2009, the Phosphorite reserves identified cumulatively is 2695 million tons, taking 40% of the total reserves in China. The Phosphorite mainly locates at the four ore districts, as Kaiyang-Xifeng, Wen’an-Fuquan Ore District, Zhijin-Qingzhen Ore District and Tongren-Songtao Ore District. The Phosphorite from 84% to 90% is used for kinds of phosphate fertilizers manufacturing, 3.3% for feed additives manufacturing, 4% for detergent manufacturing, the rest is applied widely in chemicals, light industry and national defense.
Till end of 1989, there were 163 mineral deposits of gold, amongst,25 gold deposits, which including 20 rock gold deposits (1 extra-large one, 2 large ones, 4 middle ones and 13 small ones) , 2 small gulch gold deposits, 2 small associated gold deposits, 1 paragenic gold deposit, distributed within 27 counties and cities within this province. And till end of 1989, the recovered gold reserves accumulated to 54.93 tons, ranking the 24th in China.
Guizhou is abundant in antimony resources and enjoys being in a good output condition, whose large-middle deposits distributes closely and the ore forms unitarily. Guizhou is an important antimony resources base of China, ranking the 3rd only after Hunanand Guangxi. Now it has been discovered and mined in over 20 counties and cities in Southwest, South and Southeast Guizhou Prefectures. Till October of 2009, the accumulated antimony resources identified reaches 683,200 tons. Antimony ore has been applied in a plenty of ways, the majority of antimony metal is melted into allay with lead and tin, and the lead-antimony alloying plate in lead-acid battery.
Ores ranking the 2nd: phosphorite (reserves of 2.695 billion tons, taking 40% of China), bauxite (recoverable reserves of 424 million tons), tombathite and so on.
Ores ranking 3rd ones: Magnesium, manganese, gallium and so on.
Besides, coal, Tin, gold and pyrites also take important position in China. Guizhou has a vast coal reserve, forming a complete coal types and good quality, known as the Southwest Coal Sea for a long term. Till the end of 2002 the recoverable reserves is 49.227 billion tons.
The Metallogenic Belt Division and Characteristics in Guizhou
Mineral resources in Guizhou
Guizhou has plenty of mineral resources, and is famous for its mineral resources in China. Till the end of 2002, 110 types have been recovered, amongst them, 76 resources deposits have been proven, many recoverable resources ranking at the forefront in China.
Mineral resources distribution map of Guizhou
Mercury
Barite
Phosphorite
Rare earth
Antimony ore
Gold ore
The palaeoenvironment evolution of Guizhou Plateau
First, before Middle Ordovician, the ocean took nearly the whole Guizhou province. The widest transgression period was during Cambria to Early Ordovician in geo-history in this province.
Second, after Middle Ordovician and late of Middle Triassic, seawater rushed in and out frequently, which was the important for Guizhou transformed from paleoceanography to land. During this period, a Palaeogeographic landscape came into being with two special patterns : platform and basin of shelf and open marine shelf.
Third, at the Rhaetian Age of Late Triassic the seawater disappeared totally from Guizhou, finishing the transformation from marine environment to land environment, so came completely with a new sedimentary pattern as land, river and lake environment as the majority.
Maritime environment restored map in Cambria
Maritime environment restored map in Ordovician
Maritime environment restored map in Permian
Maritime environment restored map in Silurian
Sketch map of paleogeographic environment in shelf
Maritime environment restored map in Devonian
Environment restored map in Carboniferous
Land, Rivers and Lakes restored map at late Triassic in Guizhou
Distinctive Guizhou Plateau
Guizhou Plateau, between 24°35’～29°15’ of north latitude and 103°35’ ～109°35’ of east longitude, is the east part of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, locating at the second step of China’ Terrain.It is a subtropical Karstification plateau which rises higher between Guangxi Hill and Sichuan Basin. The Karst landforms developed extremely in this plateau, whose coverage and types led the world, being a typical Karst Plateau in the world.
Characteristics of Guizhou Plateau
Regional geological features of Guizhou Plateau
Guizhou Plateau (Guizhou Province) locates at South-China Plate, crossing three sub- geotectonic units of Yangtze Plate, Chiangnan Orogenic Belt and Youjiang Orogenic Belt. Because of the crust mantle interactions and plates movement in long geo-history, many kinds of geo-events happened, which created the complicated and numerous geo-image in Guizhou, known as Kingdom of Sedimentary Rocks, Treasury of Paleontology in the world, possessing such features as completely developed stratum, widely distributed carbonate rocks, plenty of fossils, diverse sedimentary types, ultrafine magmatic activity, simple metamorphism, typical thin-skinned structure and comparably stable crust.
Regional tectonic features of Guizhou Plateau
1- The geotectonic location
Guizhou locates at the uplift zone between the Mesozoic Orogenic Belt in East Asia and the Cenozoic Tethys-Alps Orogenic Belt.
2- Tectonic movement stage
The tectonic development in Guizhou has undergone 5 tectonic movements as Wuling, Xuefen, Caledonian, Hualixi- Indochina, Yanshan-Himalaya and so forth.
3- Regional tectonic movement
Xuefeng Orogeny settled the basal of Yangtze Para-platform, Guangxi Orogeny created the folded uplift in Southeast Guizhou in succession and intermingled with Yangtze Para-platform in the northwest, hereafter went throught rifting and sub-duction orogenies, interweaving a complex and diverse tectonic strain image.
China hypsometric map
Guizhou regional geological map
The Sketch of deep tectonic of Guizhou Province
The tectonic units of Guizhou Province
The history of sea-land changes of Guizhou plateau
Late proterozoic eon
early palaeozoic
late palaeozoic
Meso- Cenozoic
(Ⅰ)Late Proterozoic
At very early stage, on the Paleogeography casued by the Wuling movement, after early-stage deplanation, the whole Guizhou was taken by seawater. Yet in the Early Sinian, the distribution between maritime and land in Guizhou changed, the north and west of Yanhe-Shixiang-Duyun was mountainous area, yet the south and east became marine environment. Within this province, a stable carbonate sedimentation appeared.
(Ⅱ)Early Paleozoic
In the meantime, marine environment took in charge of the whole Guizhou basically, yet with minor change, on the sedimentation basis of platform, open marine sedimentation developed, then followed the typical platform sedimentation, then after the open marine sedimentation.
(Ⅲ)Late Paleozoic- the critical transforming moment from ocean to land in Guizhou Palaeoenvironment
1-Early Devonian
Guizhou lifted up into land, with a deletion of Early Devonian sedimentation.
2-Mid-late Devonian –Yanguanian age of Early Carboniferous
The Paleography outline kept similar with the Early Devonian.
3-Datangian Age of Early Carboniferous
Areas of Transgression enlarged, seawater invasion of diffuse expanded to the north of Xiuwen-Zhijin.
4-Dewuan Age of Early Carboniferous to Late Carboniferous
Areas of transgression enlarged, mainly manifested as carbonate sedimentation.
5-The Early Permian
The Transgression gradually expanded, with carbonate sedimentation totally till the Mid-Qixia
6-The Late Permian
The Dongwu Movement not only lifted up the majority of Guizhou into land, but also change the Paleogeography.
(Ⅳ)Middle Kainozoic
1-Induan Age of Early Triassic
It followed basically the Paleogeography pattern of the Late Permian.
2-From Oren Period of Early Triassic to Mid-Triassic
The transgression range expanded, the whole Guizhou became combination type sedimentation.
3-The Late Triassic
With the shell lifted up, seawater decreased to the south, the marine areas began to shrink, and the later Anyuan Movement lifted the whole Guizhou into the land.
4-From Jurassic to the Quaternary Period
The early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, majority of Guizhou was prunosus Clastic Sedimentary, which belongs to the large inland lacustrine product.
The hydrogeological features of Guizhou plateau
The source of underground water
The groundwater in Guizhou is mainly recharged by atmospheric precipitation. But, there exists an interaction between the groundwater and surface water, including reciprocal transformation and supply. The groundwater recharge patterns can be divided into two categories: concentrated drainage and dispersive permeation.
The types of underground water
According to the aquiclude’s features and the phreatic and runoff features of the ground water, there are Karst water, crevice water and interstitial water, with the Karst water as the majority.
karst water
For its wide distribution and vast volume, the Karst water is the uppermost ground water. It is sub-divided into the pipe water and the crevice water.
Crevice water
From the feature, Crevice water can be subdivided into clastic rock crevice wate, metamorficrock crevice water and magmatite crevice wate。
Interstitial water
Interstitial water sporadically distributes in the unconsolidated loose rocks of the Quaternary and the Tertiary Periods. This type of water limits in extremely thinning and small coverage and water-bearing property, low-level volume.
The features of underground river in Guizhou Plateau
The development characteristics of underground river
①The underground river is quite well developed and wide distributed, which is one outstanding characteristic of Guizhou.
There are 1130 underground rivers, and the general annual average flow reaches 200 million cubic meters. Amongst over 800 flow into the water systems of Yangtze River reaches, and another 300 flow into the water system of the Pearl River reaches.
②Regularly short length of the underground river
The overall length of underground river in Guizhou is about 6000 kilometers, 0.3% of them with a length over 50 kilometers, 0.7% between 30 to 50 kilometers, 10% between 10 to 30 kilometers, 36% between 5-10 kilometers, and 61% or so less than 5 kilometers.
③Shallow burial of the underground river
The vast majority of the underground river in Guizhou distributes at dozens meters underground. So there are such indications as depression, sinkhole, vertical shaft, skylight in a linear array.
④The development degree of underground river linked closely with the stratum
The underground river most developed mainly in the limestone rock groups; then less developed mainly in the dolomite rock groups, and developed short length and small volume in the carbonate clastic rock groups.
⑤The development characteristic of underground river linked closely with geomorphologic features
In the mid-low mountainous basin valley in South Guizhou, the underground river system has vast amount in scale and quantity with dense brunches and complicated structures. The largest scale one is the Daxiaojin Underground River System in Moyang of Luodian, which is the largest one in Guizhou Province known till now. In the mid-low hilly and plains in Southwest Guizhou, the development and size are only next after the South Guizhou, the largest one is Longbaiwei Underground River System. In the middle mountainous areas in West Guizhou Plateau, its average length is short, with rarity with length over 20 kilometers, and mostly forms single watershed, rarely in a underground river system, the fairly large one is Lanba Underground River in Shuicheng.
In the hilly and plain basin area in Middle Guizhou, underground river develops fairly well yet with short runoff and small volume, and mostly are small-scale underground river system. The biggest one is Yuankou Underground River.
In the Mountain-Plain middle mountainous areas in North Guizhou, as carbonate rocks and clastic rocks distributed in stripped belt, underground river system development is subjected to a certain restriction. The river’s length over 10 kilometers is quite small, the average coverage is small, the volume is not big, so rarely forms underground river system.
In the low hill and hilly areas in East Guizhou, the non-carbonate rocks take the majority with carbonate rocks sporadically distributed. In the exposed dolomite rocks area in Northeast Guizhou, even though kinds of Karst landforms developed, few underground rivers formed and distributed depressively with short length, those with 5 kilometers is not common and small volume.
Underground water resources
The Water Resources and Hydropower Research Institute of Guizhou Province has calculated out the general annual average flow of the underground river is 25.87 billion cubic meters per year in the whole province with the basin segmentation method, taking 24.8% of the total runoffs. Amongst 21.49 billion cubic meters per year of Karst rock water, taking 83.1% of the total amount of underground river resources. Non-Karst water is 4.4 billion cubic meters per year, taking 16.9%. By drainage basin, 18.4 billion cubic meters flows to the Yangtze River reaches, taking 71.1%, and 7.47 billion cubic meters per year flows to the Pearl River, taking 29.8%.
The total amount underground river natural resources takes 2.63% of the underground river amount in the whole China, ranking the 12th; amongst the Karst water takes 8.24% and ranks the 6th in China.
The distribution map of underground water in Guizhou plateau
plant resources of Guizhou plateau
animal resources of Guizhou plateau
The natural geographic features of Guizhou Plateau
From the geographic terrain, Guizhou locates at the transitional zones from the first stage of China Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the second stage of plateau and mountains and to the third stage of hilly and plains, being the dividing crest between Yangtze River System and the Pearl River System. The general landforms consist of plateau, mountain-plateau, hilly and mountainous areas. The Karst landforms develop into diverse types and distribut widely; the exposed carbonate rocks take 73% total area of this province.
Guizhou province belongs to subtropical humid monsoon climate, with minor temperature varied, warm in winter and cool in summer, forming a pleasant weather for people to stay.
The surface river development features in Guizhou Plateau
The general patterns of river systems divid from the west and middle to the north, east and south. Miaoling mountain range is the first-level dividing crest between Yangtze River and the Pearl River, with the north belonging to the Yangtze River system and the south to the Pearl River. The drainage basin of Yangtze River system is 115,742 km2, consisting of Wu River, Chishui River and Qingshuijiang River mainly. The drainage basin of the Pearl River system is 60425 km2, consisting of Nanpan River, Beipan River and Hongshuihe River mainly. In this territory, about 60% rivers run through Karst areas, most of them run both aboveground and underground alternatively and transform into each other and supply mutually.
The landform features of Guizhou Plateau
The landform in Guizhou belongs to plateau and mountains in West China, the terrain is high in east and low in west, which slopes from the middle to the north, east and south; the average altitude is about 1100 meters. For plateau and mountains take the majority, so hence the saying of 80% mountains, 10% water and 10% field land. The landform in Guizhou varies regionally in diverse types as plateau, mountain plateau, mountainous region, hilly, terrace, basin (flatland) and stream terrace, which differs from each other not only in the shapes and altitude, but also the formation causes and the composing materials, forming a significant differences from the neighboring Yunnan Plateau, Sichuan Basin, Guangxi Hilly and Hunan Hilly. The vast terrain of Guizhou consists of plateau, mountain plateau, mountain and hilly land; amongst them, plateau, mountain plateau and mountainous region takes 87% area of the whole province, 10% hilly land, and basin and stream terrace takes 3%.
The main mountain ranges and distribution features in Guizhou
There scatters 5 line-clear, continuous expansion mountain ranges, forming the landform skeleton of Guizhou Plateau. They are separately the Dalou Mountain in the north, Wuling Mountain in the east, Wumeng Mountain in the west , Laowang Mountain in the southwest and Miling Mountain spanning in the middle.
The terrain feature in Guizhou
From the terrain, Guizhou locates at the transitional zones from the first stage of China Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the second stage of plateau and mountains and to the third stage of hilly and plain, being the dividing crest between Yangtze River System and the Pearl River System, so becoming the Karst plateau and mountains rising highly between Sichuan Basin and Guangxi Hilly, cut through intensively by rivers. The terrain is high in the east and low in the west, and high in the center, low in the north and south, with five mountain ranges as the terrain skeleton of Guizhou Plateau, and six rivers system erodes and cuts through.
The distribution map of main rivers in Guizhou plateau
The profile of Guizhou Karst landform
Karst landforms develop extremely fully in Guizhou, forming complete types relevant and distributing widely. The carbonate rocks area takes 73% of the whole province territory. In Guizhou nearly all kinds of Karst landforms and shapes could be visualized, as on the surface stone teeth, karren, funnel, sinkhole,fenglin, karst basin, trough valley, Karst lake, pond, and tidal spring are visible; on the underground karst cave, underground river, underground lake and calcareous sediments are discovered. The shapes of kinds of calcareous sediments are variable, numerable and colorful, in forms of stalactite,stalagmite, stone flower, sheet, stone falls, lotus-flower pot, helictite, and kinds of cave corrosion as current ripple and scallop solutional ripple, are extremely valuable and ornamental, in the numerable caves represented by Zhijindong Cave.
The climate feature of Guizhou Plateau
Guizhou Plateau, warm and humid, belongs to subtropical humid monsoon climate. The average temperature isoline in between 12 °C and 18 °C, the highest appears in July yet lowest in January; rainfalls intensively happens between May and July, usually comes as showery precipitation with much rainstorm in a high intensity, which takes the annual 75% rainfall or above. Yet from November to next April, rainfalls decrease obviously, with only the annual 5% or less. The climate disasters in Guizhou mainly are less sunshine, shortage of sunshine resources, cold spell in later spring, summer drought, flood and hail happens frequently.
Animal resources in Guizhou Plateau
There are over 1000 spices of wild animals, amongst those 14 as Guizhou Snub-nosed Golden Monkey, Presbytis francoisi, South China Tiger, Clouded Leopard, Leopard, White Zygomaticus, Black Stork, Black-necked Crane, Chinese Merganser, Golden Eagle, White-shouldered Eagle, White Tailed Sea-eagle, Hooded Crane and Python have been listed into the National first-grade protected animals, taking 13% of this grade in China. And there are 69 National second- grade protected animals, mainly are Pangolin, Black Bear, Otter, Larger and Lesser Civet Cats, Musk Deer, Tragopan temminckii, Syrmaticus reevesii and Chrysolophus pictus, taking 25.7% of this grade in China.
The Soild Features of Guizhou Plateau
There are 159,100 square kilometers of soil land in Guizhou, which takes 90.4% of the whole land area. Its zonality belongs to Red soil and Yellow Soil of mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. In the vast central and eastern parts tends to wet evergreen broad-leaved forest with yellow soil as majority; yet the southwest part tends to dry evergreen broad-leaved forest with red soil as majority; the northwest part are taken with north subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, with yellow brown soil in majority.
Plant resources in Guizhou Plateau
There are plenty of vegetations in Guizhou Plateau laying out a distinctive subtropical nature, with diverse types. Here Chinese subtropical zonal vegetations of evergreen broad-leaved forest coexists with monsoon forest in the valleys and mountains of tropic zone, and subalpine coniferous forest of cold temperature zone does with coniferous forest in the warm climate zone, vast secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest co-exists with extremely-limited precious deciduous forest.
